Opinion

Creating the next transport “super-hub” at Old Oak Common

Darren Reed, head of rail, WSP|PB

By 2026 Old Oak Common is set to become a key transport hub connecting London to the rest of the UK. Darren Reed, head of rail at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff explores the challenges involved in creating this ambition.

Old Oak Common is planned as the key interchange station between the Great Western Main Line, Crossrail and HS2. Sitting mid-way between Heathrow and the centre of London, the station will handle more than 250,000 passengers a day and deliver huge regeneration potential to the area. 

It is one of four major transport interchanges to be designed for the first phase of the new high speed rail line. 

"The key will be not just to design a solution, but to develop a system that enables the station to be constructed whilst keeping the existing railways operational and serving the travelling public."

In our work for Network Rail, we will tackle major design changes to existing infrastructure at Old Oak Common, including the design of new signalling and power systems, and, not least, the realignment of a 2.7km section of railway. 

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This alone will involve multiple construction stages, making it one of the most complex interfaces between the conventional railway and HS2, on which we designed both the high-speed and conventional railway systems for phase one. 

Effectively, by moving the Great Western Main Line closer to the proposed HS2 line we will enable a “superhub” to be built over both, therefore allowing easy interchange for commuters between HS2, Crossrail, the Great Western Main Line, Heathrow Express and other local public transport. 

Not for nothing has local government predicted that Old Oak Common Station will be “one of the best connected railway stations in the country”. For this to become reality it will be essential to design this new hub as one system to create a truly seamless interchange between the modes.

Clearly a complex interface, the challenge gets trickier still with the future station located within a tight footprint and in an area that is surrounded by residential buildings and light industrial use properties. 

"It will be a real win for the residents of Old Oak Common themselves, affording them a meaningful improvement in their mobility and transport options as well as the associated regenerative benefits."

The major new transport hub will be the catalyst for a 2,300 acre new development, which the Mayor of London believes could produce a £6.2bn boost to London’s economy: evidence, if evidence were needed, that rail is a powerful vehicle for regeneration and can yield great returns on investment for our economy. 

The project requires extensive and broad experience in design and construction/operations planning for the railway combined with an awareness of the needs of the adjoining development. 

Now that WSP and Parsons Brinckerhoff have combined we are able to bring together expertise in stations, civil and rail systems design, our experience in operations and construction planning, as well as our extensive expertise in adjacent developments, such as the Shard at London Bridge. All of these skills are essential for a project of this complexity. The key will be not just to design a solution, but to develop a system that enables the station to be constructed whilst keeping the existing railways operational and serving the travelling public. 

This work builds upon our previous work in this area for both HS2 and Transport for London to develop options for the station and we are as excited now by the potential of the site as we were then. 

In particular, the station will create much needed capacity on the overloaded Main Line routes by providing links to HS2 from the west and south west and remove the need for unnecessary travelling into central London. It has the potential to create a transformational change in London’s transportation system where interchange between rail modes is achieved outside of an already stressed central London transport network. 

It also opens up much needed public transport options to Heathrow to a wider area. It will also be a real win for the residents of Old Oak Common themselves, affording them a meaningful improvement in their mobility and transport options as well as the associated regenerative benefits. 

Darren Reed is head of rail at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff and leads the team recently appointed by Network Rail to deliver engineering consultancy and infrastructure planning services at Old Oak Common, for the key interchange station between the Great Western Main Line, Crossrail and HS2.